His hand tightens on my hip.
We lie like this for a while, listening to the forest settle into nighttime rhythms. A soft wind moves through the trees. The fire crackles. Somewhere distant, an owl calls.
Boone shifts slightly. “You’re warm,” he says.
“And you’re gigantic.”
“That’s… factual.”
I smile into his shoulder. “I like your size.”
His breath catches faintly.
I tilt my head up. “Boone?”
“Yes?”
“Do you know how hard it is not to climb you right now?”
He makes a strangled noise—not quite a cough, not quite a growl. “Elias,” he warns.
“Yes?”
“You’re testing my self-control.”
“That’s the plan.”
He exhales sharply, muscles tensing beneath me.
I soften. “Hey,” I murmur, stroking my thumb along his sternum. “I didn’t mean… pressure. I just meant I like being close to you.”
His body relaxes again, slowly. “I like it,” he admits. “More than I should.”
“Good thing I’m not planning on letting you go anytime soon.”
He groans quietly. “You can’t say things like that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ll believe you.”
I lift myself up enough to meet his gaze. “Then believe me,” I whisper.
His expression cracks—just a little—revealing the fragile, fiercely hopeful male beneath. He cups the back of my head and pulls me down for a kiss.
Not hungry like earlier. Not rushed.
This time, it’s slow and savoring. A kiss that feels like promise rather than fire.
When we part, he rests his forehead against mine. “Sleep,” he murmurs.
“Will you stay awake all night?” I ask.
“I don’t sleep like humans,” he says. “I drift. I rest. I’m aware even when I’m not aware.”
“So, you’ll watch over me?”
“Yes.”
